My journal about my experience of life in Sitka, Alaska - a place that "called" to me and awakened something within me when I answered. This is a place of deep remembrance, joy and belonging for me and I will carry it within my heart always. The most recent posts are of a visit that I made to Sitka in 2009. The earlier posts are from the years 2004-2006, when I lived there.
Alice Machesney, Sitka's best-known accordion player, devoted bicyclist, rower and avid community volunteer, died suddenly Saturday night while on a visit to the Sitka Pioneers Home. She was 83.
A memorial service has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Sheet'ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi, followed by a graveside service, and reception at 3:30 p.m. at the Swan Lake Senior Center.
Machesney was a familiar figure in Sitka, pedaling her single-speed bicycle through the streets and highways, often with her accordion in the basket. She lived on Dove Island, and could be seen at any time of year rowing her boat across Jamestown on her way into town.
Machesney had a standing offer from her friends to provide her with a bike helmet, but she never agreed to wear one.
KCAW Raven Radio General Manager Ken Fate paid tribute to Machesney at the public radio station's membership dinner Sunday night. Machesney not only played the accordion herself but played recorded accordion polkas on the weekly radio program she hosted Friday mornings.
``She was on the air almost 20 years at Raven Radio,'' Fate said today. ``One of the amazing things about her was that she was rarely gone from her show in the 20 years I've been there.'' The only shows she missed were when she was volunteering at the Dog Point Fish Camp, and the rare trip out of town.
Fate said Machesney not only played polka music but selected music for the second part of her show from all parts of the library.
``She would spend four or five hours, sometimes double that, listening to music out of the library,'' he said. Hundreds of albums in the record library have notes from Machesney.
Machesney's work on Raven Radio earned her notice from National Public Radio in the mid-1990s, during a period when the Republican majority in Congress was trying to cut federal funding for public radio.
The national TV current events program ``60 Minutes'' decided to carry a story about the public radio funding dispute.
``There was an argument that public radio was the plaything of the upper middle class,'' Fate recalled today. The ``60 Minutes'' producers wanted to show another side of public radio, and contacted Sitka's Raven Radio.
``They were looking to profile community public radio volunteers -- I don't think they had any idea how far off the mark (of the stereotype) Alice was,'' Fate said today. The program sent a camera team to Sitka, and millions of ``60 Minutes'' viewers saw footage of Machesney riding her bike, rowing her boat, and playing her accordion on her KCAW-FM radio show.
Raven Radio was only one of Machesney's many volunteer activities. She could also be seen working the register at the White Elephant thrift shop and entertaining with her accordion at the Swan Lake Senior Center and the Pioneers Home.
She was at the Pioneers Home doing a special performance when she collapsed and died Saturday night.
``She's been volunteering here for 25 or 30 years,'' said Kristi Greinier, Pioneers Home recreational therapist. ``She came here every Friday and played for a pretty large group of residents. ... She had her own thing going on.''
Not only was she appreciated for her music, but for her bright and cheerful personality, Greinier said.
``She was an incredible lady,'' Greinier said. ``It's pretty rare to have people come in and do that on a regular basis -- she is our oldest volunteer, and one of the most dedicated. She was always in such high spirits. That made people happy to see her. She always had a smile on her face that made you feel good to see her.''
Her healthy lifestyle caught the attention of SEARHC in organizing the first Sitka Health Summit. Machesney became the first Local Wellness Champion in the 2007, in the individual category.
``She was the last person there that night (at the banquet), she got some roller blades, and wanted to try them out,'' said Doug Osborne, a SEARHC health educator, who was on the Health Summit steering committee. ``She was definitely an inspiration.''
She was also seen frequently biking across O'Connell Bridge to University of Alaska Southeast, where she took one class every semester and used the computers to browse the Internet.
``She was always taking something,'' said her daughter, Annette Blankenship, of Sitka.
Machesney returned just a week ago from a weeklong trip to a her sister's 65th high school reunion in Billings, Mont., and the wedding of her brother's great-grandson in Minneapolis, Minn. Blankenship said she visited friends and family in both places.
Machesney had a daughter and several grandchildren and great grandchildren in town.
